Revolutionary Surgery Treats Rare Heart Defect
Out-of-the-box maneuvers for an innovative minimally invasive cardiology procedure saved the life of a young man born with half a heart, missing the right ventricle.
He was in danger due to a malfunctioning mitral valve and the overwork of his abnormal heart — a condition that made traditional surgery a high-risk option, CE Report quotes ANSA.
After receiving approval from the hospital’s Ethics Committee and the Ministry of Health, the innovative defect repair procedure — a transcatheter implantation of 3 valve clips — was successfully performed by a team at Bambino Gesù Hospital with support from international experts. The case, with few precedents in global scientific literature, opens the door to new treatment options for patients with rare congenital heart defects.
The patient is a 32-year-old man with a long history of complex cardiac surgeries, all performed at Bambino Gesù, necessary to build an alternative circulation system known as the Fontan procedure. This system directs oxygen-poor blood from the venae cavae directly to the lungs, bypassing the heart.
This condition places the body and the remaining ventricle under constant strain and requires lifelong therapy and monitoring. Over time, the patient developed severe mitral regurgitation, but thanks to this alternative technique, the initially severe condition was reduced to below mild levels.
The new transcatheter procedure (where a thin flexible catheter is inserted into blood vessels and guided to the heart) enabled the placement of 3 clips to strengthen the closure of the faulty mitral valve.
The hospital reports that the patient’s clinical condition improved rapidly, and he was discharged just six days after the procedure, with a significant reduction in the need for medications.
